Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle comparison

The compared Cisco and RSA solutions aren't in the same category. Cisco is ranked #2 in NAC , with an average rating of 7.6, and holds a 21.7% mindshare in the category. RSA is ranked #20 in IAM , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 60% of RSA users who would recommend it.

Cisco Identity Services Eng...

Read 144 Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) reviews

15,070 Views
9,796 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

RSA Identity Governance and...

Read 10 RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle reviews

1,016 Views
732 Comparison Views

60% willing to recommend

Cisco Identity Services Eng...

RSA Identity Governance and...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC).

To learn more, read our detailed Network Access Control (NAC) Report (Updated: March 2026).

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Network Access Control (NAC)

March 2026

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Identity Services Eng...

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

144

Ranking in other categories

Network Access Control (NAC) (2nd), Cisco Security Portfolio (4th)

RSA Identity Governance and...

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Identity Management (IM) (20th)

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is designed for Network Access Control (NAC) and holds a mindshare of 21.7%, down 27.1% compared to last year.
RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle, on the other hand, focuses on Identity Management (IM), holds 1.2% mindshare, down 1.3% since last year.

Network Access Control (NAC) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)	21.7%
Aruba ClearPass	20.8%
Fortinet FortiNAC	15.0%
Other	42.5%

Network Access Control (NAC)

Identity Management (IM) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle	1.2%
SailPoint Identity Security Cloud	12.2%
Microsoft Entra ID	8.8%
Other	77.8%

Identity Management (IM)

Featured Reviews

NicolasFigaro

Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis

Has improved authentication management and simplified visitor network access

The log capacity in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could be enhanced because today natively on the ISE can only have a look at the logs from the day before. You cannot search into the oldest logs; you have to use another tool for that. This can be blocking if you don't have any log consolidation solution. To do a search for an issue or something that happened two days ago, you cannot search directly in there. The capacity of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could be enhanced. Something between one week and one month for the log capacity would be nice.

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Harshul Nayak

Senior Project Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

Streamline identity lifecycle management with intuitive interfaces and robust policy features

The functions of RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle, especially the IGA, are quite strong with their custom forms and workflows integrated. The user interface is very friendly and easy to use, making it a good product overall. However, it still has to be on-premise and the cloud version is not easily accessible, as dedicated instances are required and machines cannot be shared as multi-tenant for various customers. The advanced policy features of RSA definitely help in defining certain policies such as segregation of duties. That's particularly useful along with creating different access reviews. Regarding access control in simplifying access management, RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle has strong foundations of groups and roles, which help in defining all policies very easily. This makes it very easy to integrate with other access management tools or privileged access management tools.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"It integrates with the rest of our platform, like our firewall, and helps us a lot. It also does a good job establishing trust for every access request."

"The posture assessment is a valuable feature because of the ability to do assessments on the clients before they connect to the network."

"Unauthenticated devices are not allowed on our network and that has been an improvement for our company."

"It offers automatic profiling of phones and computers, enabling administrators to identify and categorize devices seamlessly."

"I like the guest access feature, which has been important for us."

"Technical support as always is one of the best."

"Cisco ISE's profiling and posturing features ensure that all devices are compliant with regulatory authorities."

"The endpoint profiling feature is among the most valuable because it keeps me from having to manually maintain a MAC address bypass list to track endpoints. I can have ISE profile them for me and then put them in the right bucket."

More Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) pros

"The most valuable feature is the security, in particular, the One Time Password support."

"Customer service was always exceptional and if we needed to call the regular customer support number for administrative tasks on the account, they were always helpful and resolved our cases within a few days."

"RSA Identity Governance and lifecycles are good for the access certification and auditing sections."

"Roles, connectors for provisioning and re-accreditation or reviews help greatly to govern user access."

"All of the features in this product are good and this is a product that I recommend."

"The data collection is excellent and easy to do. It does not require a lot of configuration nor does it require rules to be written like other competitors do."

"The data collection is excellent and easy to do."

More RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle pros

Cons

"The ISE software needs to be improved so that it is easier to administer."

"There is much room for improvement, especially after having perused the documentation on the solution's website. The solution lacks properly knowledgeable support, especially internationally, and this is why I am exploring other applications."

"I'd like to see an easier way to upgrade to larger versions, as well as more best practices that are easier to locate on their support page."

"I don't like the fact that we can see the logs only for 24 hours. Maybe that happens because of the way we set it up."

"One of the main issues in Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is that it lags excessively."

"The solution can lag somewhat as we have a large database."

"They should improve the upgrades. It's not easy to upgrade the solution."

"Profiling is a really good feature. However, it sometimes is a challenge for customers when there are issues with the remediation part."

More Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) cons

"It could be a little more flexible with the installation of the product."

"Every connector that you have in the product needs to be custom-built, so there are not a lot of standard connectors available in the product, because of which there are a lot of hidden consultancy costs."

"The user interface and workflow need improvement, and more connectors would help."

"The stability of RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle could improve; it has some bugs that need to be fixed."

"We were excited that the self-provision feature was now built into the box but disappointed at the implementation."

"If you use the appliance version then it won't handle a huge database volume."

"Technical support in Pakistan can be improved."

"Application and appliance stability needs improvement."

More RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you go directly with Cisco for the implementation it's very, very expensive."

"The Essentials licensing is reasonable, but I would like the Premier version to be perpetual instead of a subscription."

"The price of the solution is price fair for the features you receive."

"The pricing is good. The last time we purchased four new appliances the price was doable for any organization of our size."

"The price is okay."

"The price for Cisco ISE itself is very low, however, Cisco professional services are quite expensive. Subscription amount is dependent on number of users."

"Licensing has got much simpler since Cisco moved to the DNA model because we just have the three tiers, but it could always stand to be improved upon."

"I think the price is okay."

More Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) pricing and cost advice

"We are using the cloud platform, but we don't find it compatible to be served as a multi-tenant platform. This is a large drawback. It becomes expensive because it is then an all-dedicated solution. You have to have a separate tenant for each client, which increases the cost. The overall unit pricing can be less expensive than how it is right now."

"I rate the product's price a five on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."

"Pricing varies based on user count/number of modules you need."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

Government

Comms Service Provider

12%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	45
Midsize Enterprise	32
Large Enterprise	91

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	6

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Aruba Clearpass or Cisco ISE?

Aruba ClearPass is a Network Access Control tool that gives secure network access to multiple device types. You can adapt the policies to VPN access, wired, or wireless access. You can securely ...

See all answers

What are the main differences between Cisco ISE and Forescout Platform?

OK, so Cisco ISE uses 802.1X to secure switchports against unauthorized access. The drawback of this is that ISE cannot secure the port if a device does not support 802.1x. Cameras, badge readers, ...

See all answers

How does Cisco ISE compare with Fortinet FortiNAC?

Cisco ISE uses AI endpoint analytics to identify new devices based on their behavior. It will also notify you if someone plugs in with a device that is not allowed and will block it. The user exper...

See all answers

What needs improvement with RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle?

There is room for improvement with RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle. As the size becomes larger, the collections and unifications of the IDs process become quite slow, which can be improved fu...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle?

We provide RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle as a service, mainly to oversee the digital identity lifecycle, from the initiation to the off-boarding at the end of that digital identity. Our cli...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle?

Overall, I would rate RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle at an eight out of ten.

See all answers

Comparisons

Aruba ClearPass vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Compared 25% of the time

Fortinet FortiNAC vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Compared 16% of the time

Forescout Platform vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Compared 7% of the time

Portnox vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Compared 3% of the time

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Compared 3% of the time

More Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Competitors

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle

Compared 34% of the time

One Identity Manager vs RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle

Compared 11% of the time

Saviynt Identity Cloud vs RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle

Compared 8% of the time

Symantec Identity Governance and Administration vs RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle

Compared 7% of the time

Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle

Compared 6% of the time

More RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

April 2026

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) report

Download Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) product report

Buyer's Guide

RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle

March 2026

RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle report

Download RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle product report

Also Known As

Cisco ISE

SecurID

Overview

Cisco Identity Services Engine offers robust authentication, posture profiling, guest and secure access, and dynamic policy management. Known for its seamless integration with Cisco tools and network access control features, it ensures secure device and user authentication across networks.

Cisco Identity Services Engine is renowned for its capabilities in managing authentication, guest access, and policy management through segmentation. Its TrustSec functionality, alongside RADIUS and TACACS+ support, provides enhanced security, further augmented by its ability to operate in diverse environments. Its scalability and integration with Cisco solutions aid in maintaining network visibility and access control. Challenges include the complexity of initial deployments, somewhat cumbersome documentation, and limited integration in multi-vendor environments. While encountering issues in stability and updates, the demand for better analytics and straightforward troubleshooting alongside cost-effective licensing is notable.

What are the key features of Cisco Identity Services Engine?

Authentication: Secures user and device access to networks using robust authentication protocols.
Posture Profiling: Provides in-depth analysis of device compliance with security policies.
Guest Access Management: Allows controlled network access for guest users through streamlined processes.
Dynamic Policy Management: Enables automatic adjustment of security policies based on real-time data.
Segmentation via TrustSec: Enhances security levels by segmenting network traffic based on identity.

What benefits or ROI should users expect from Cisco Identity Services Engine?

Comprehensive Security: Ensures enforceable security policies across network access points.
Enhanced Integration: Facilitates seamless collaboration with existing Cisco infrastructures.
Improved Compliance: Helps meet industry security standards for network access and user rights.
Increased Visibility: Provides detailed insights into network traffic and user activities.
Device Management Efficiency: Streamlines the process of managing diverse devices within a single framework.

Industries implement Cisco Identity Services Engine primarily for network access control, ensuring secure authentication and segmentation in both wired and wireless environments. Supporting policies like bring-your-own-device and compliance standards, ISE manages identity-based access control, especially beneficial for entities that require detailed user rights management and integration within enterprise networks.

Cisco

RSA SecurID provides world-leading two-factor authentication, protecting 25,000 organizations and 55 million users. RSA SecurID extends security to bring your own device (BYOD), cloud, and mobile as well as traditional virtual private network (VPN) and web portals. RSA SecurID solutions comprise three primary components: authenticator, platform, and agents.

RSA

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, BC Hydro, Beachbody, Bucks County Intermediate Unit , Cisco IT, Derby City Council, Global Banking Customer, Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha, Houston Methodist, Linz AG, London Hydro, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Molina Healthcare, MST Systems, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Reykjavik University, Wildau University

NTT Com Asia, Virgin Blue, Bank of Uganda, EMEA Telecommunications Company, LAit (Lazio Innovazione Tecnologica), NyNet, OTP Bank, Red Bull Racing, Rupert House School, Signify, UK Local Authority, Bancolombia, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (BPPR), TIVIT, Array Services, International Computerware, KPMG LLP, Moffitt Cancer Center

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March 2026

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